Elisha Yeko and Lucia Arnoldo win the World University Cross Country titles
258 student athletes from 27 countries raced at Cassino; Yeko took the men's 10 km in 30:27 and Arnoldo gave the hosts their first individual title.
Photograph: Cassino, in the Lazio hills south of Rome, by Antonio Buttinelli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe FISU World University Cross Country Championships were run on the University of Cassino grounds in Lazio on Saturday and Sunday, the first FISU medals of the year. 258 student athletes from 27 countries raced, and ten countries went home with a medal.
The long races were on Saturday. Elisha Yeko of Uganda won the men's 10 km in 30:27, nine seconds ahead of Japan's Hiromichi Nonaka, with Uganda's Solomon Cherotwo third in 30:40. Italy's Konjoneh Maggi was fourth and Martin Perrin of France fifth. Lucia Arnoldo won the women's 10 km for Italy, the host nation's first individual title at these championships, from Nursena Çeto of Turkey and Amisa Murayama of Japan. Rebecca Flaherty of Britain was fourth.
The short races went to France. Clara Entresangle won the women's 3 km in 9:49 from Australia's Skye Ellis and Spain's Marta Serrano Azpiazu, and Oscar Thebaud took the men's 3 km ahead of two Spaniards.
Sunday was relays. Belgium won the short mixed relay, with Italy and Germany on the podium, and France won the long mixed relay from Spain and Italy. Italy took the women's team title from Spain and Canada; Spain won the men's team and the overall country trophy, with Italy second and Canada third.
Cross country is going to the Winter Universiade for the first time in Changchun next January. Mud in a championship built for ice. Good.
Sources: World Athletics; FISU.
